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MAY I begin by saying I fully respect Betsy's right to voice her opinions and views freely and in any manner she desires, I also do not doubt for one moment her genuine love and loyalty to Bahrain.

However, I feel compelled to comment on a number of her recent remarks in GulfWeekly. I have also lived in Bahrain nearly 30 years. I am married to a successful businessman and have three children, it is for their sakes and not mine that I am uncomfortable divulging my name, but I would be happy to sit down with her over a coffee, face-to-face, privately. To be made to feel like this, is in itself surely an indication that something is very seriously wrong.

I am deeply saddened and concerned about the events that have taken place recently on the island and the current situation, but I am also, like many, not at all surprised. This issue has been festering under the surface for many years.

People are frustrated and just want what was promised to them 10 years ago - a true transparent democracy - not a tailor-made version to suit one privileged sector of the community and basically ignore another. Everyone should be entitled to equal rights, opportunities and a fair distribution of wealth.

This is not about winning or who has the most supporters. This is about the future of Bahrain and the chance to create an equal society.

It is Betsy's prerogative to hold a Bahraini passport, but with all due respect, this does not make her a Bahraini. A passport is essentially a travel document and I feel personally it is a mockery to the system, as is the 'nationalisation' of Pakistanis ,Yemenis, Jordanians, Syrians etc who have been deployed to serve in the 'Bahrain' security forces.

Would you accept your homeland being policed by foreigners? How can that promote peace and harmony? It does nothing but agitate people, cause resentment and suspicion.

I acknowledge you can not please all of the people all of the time, and you will find a segment of society in every country throughout the world who will never be willing to contribute anything productive but still expect the Government to spoon feed them. This is unacceptable, but I truly believe the majority of people just want to live in peace, harmony and dignity and do an honest day's work for a decent and realistic salary to support their loved ones.

My family is fortunate enough to live a comfortable life here, but I am acutely aware, as I am sure Betsy is too, that a huge number of Bahraini families are existing on less than what we probably spend on groceries each month!

If you talk about training schemes, business initiatives and social programmes ... don't you think a genuine, caring Government should naturally be responsible for this? After all, everyone benefits in the long run.

Yes, Betsy is correct in saying all of these things are available in Bahrain, but why is it necessary for people to feel like they should be 'oh, so grateful' and continuously shout praises and thanks to the Government? They have hardly scratched the surface, in my opinion.

Finally Betsy, our children studied together. Would you care to explain to my son why he is not permitted to apply for a job in the BDF or the Ministry Of Interior or pursue a career in many other areas that your son may, based purely on his ethnic identity?

The road ahead is not going to be easy for Bahrain, but we all ultimately want the best for Bahrain, these past weeks have affirmed to many that the power of the people is stronger than the people who have the power.

I pray for a peaceful solution that can restore trust and give hope for the future and that Bahrain will emerge stronger and united.

Pearly Pearl,

By email.

WITH regard to the current situation in Bahrain, I would like to bring to your attention an inaccuracy in the report titled 'Sales luring shoppers back' in last week's GulfWeekly.

Given the tense situation of the last few weeks, while it is true that footfalls have come down drastically and are only slowly beginning to pick up since the latter part of last week, Al Aali Shopping Complex has never been closed, as reported.

Although a few stores may have been closed on the days when activities were at their peak or staff left earlier than normal, this has been purely their decision. The number of shops that did so was only a small fraction.

Our best wishes are with the people of Bahrain and for the sake of all concerned, we hope that a peaceful solution is arrived at soon. In the meantime, it's business as usual.

Sangita Pai,

marketing manager,

Al Aali Shopping Complex.

AN interesting outcome of the latest waves of protests that has engulfed Bahrain is that some local taxi drivers have gone back to their old methods of ignoring the golden rule of 'going by the meter'.

My family recently returned from a vacation during half-term and were relieved to see a local taxi driver at the airport, smiling and ready to load our suitcases into the boot. The usual fare from the airport to my house in Manama is around BD5.500 (inclusive of the waiting charge) but we were happy to give him an extra dinar considering the circumstances and we believed his sob story that no one was arriving in the island and that he had been waiting for a passenger since the wee hours of the morning.

However, my husband who returned from Dubai this week, barely nine-days later, was faced by a similar cab driver who initially demanded BD10 for the ride and then settled for BD7 insisting that he was waiting for more than five hours for a passenger.

This makes one wonder about whether the taxi drivers have learned anything at all from the past! After all, it was not long ago that the country had to face embarrassing reports of tourists fleeing from the snares of local taxi drivers charging extraordinary sums for short trips. These tourists had arrived on a major international cruise liner that has since decided not to stop on Bahrain's shores during its Middle East tours!

Mrs Rinku Chatterjee,

Gudaibiya.